anderson



y 1937- E. FAANDERSON 2,080,884

APPARATUS FOR TREATING FLOUR AND THE LIKE Filed May 31, 1934 oono'uouo o o a o 0 o o 0o 9 .7 ln/vew ior Patented May 18,- 1937 v, I

APPARATUSFOR 'rnEA'rnvG F o Edwin F. Anderson, anrrelojni;.zeseienoito Pillsbury Flour Mills Company, Minneapolis, .Minm, a corporation or Minnes ta a Application m 31, 19s4,;sener1vo. 728.260 '3 claims] (c1. ass-2i This invention relates to the treating of granularor pulverized material with a fluid medium,

such as a gas or other fluid discharged under.

pressure. While the invention has wide general 5 application, it is particularly well adapted for.

treatingflnely ground material, such-as'fl'our, t'o

bleach or otherwise condition the same. J

It is an object of my invention to provide high:-

ly eflicient apparatus of the type above described which, through agitation, difiusion and deflection, causes finely divided material to form a cloud or shower within atreating chamber and which subjects the divided particles forminglsuch cloud or shower tothe action .of a discharged as or other fluid within that chamber. g

It is a further object to provide treating ap paratus oi the class described wherein a stream of finely divided material such as flour is continuously disseminated and deflected within a treating chamber by a combined shaking action of the chamber itself and relative movement of a series of deflection elements disposed in said chamber.

Another object is the provision of treatingapparatus of the class described whereina cloud or shower of difiused particles is continuously pro- .duced and caused to move slowly in one general direction and wherein a gaseous or' other fluid medium is introduced in said cloud' orshower o and also caused to move in a given direction and wherein the structure is suclithat the entire interior of the treating chamber, including all deflection elements, walls, etc., may be constructed, if desired, of wood or other-material which are non-corrosive and cannot contaminate i311]; injure edible material, such as flour and the v, 7 Still another object is the provision or a simple and eilicient continuous process fortreating 40 granular or pulverized material, such as flour and the like, with a aseous or other fluid medium which comprises st thoroughly diffusing and deflecting a streampt the material to set up a cloud or shower or particles moving in one dimotion and subjecting the particles in their diffused state to the action of a gaseous or other fluid .medium which permeates the treating chamber.

' These and other objects and advantages of the invention will be more-fully set forth in theiollowing description made in connection with the accompanying drawing,'in which like-reference characters refer to similar parts throughout the several views, and in which:-

-2I-- 2ofFig.4;

"Fig. 3 is a vertical sectiontaken o t y bfFig. 3; I h Fig. 6 is a bottom plan'view oi'the'apparatus 1 I suitable source'of supply. a

, Fig. 1 is-a' front elevation 61 an" v of my improvedtreatingapparatus; 5

Fig. 2 is a vertical 'sectiontalsen 3'--3'ofFig. 1;

Fig; 4 is a top plan view of the apparatus; Fig. 5 is a cross section takenjon the line,

with'the flexible delivery conduitfdetached, and

Figj'l is a detail. sectional view showing the manner in' which'the deflection'rodsuare mounted for movement "relative to the shaker In the form of the invention j'illustrated an 5-: upstanding skeleton mounting framels, provided s comprising the fourpojsts 8f securedjtogether' by 7 horizontal beams 9. An'elongated box-like treating'casing, indicated 'as an entirety by the letter C is mounted within'the'l skeleton iramefor'rd-Z ciprocating or shakinglmovejment;QCasing JQ,- as shown, comprises the vfour,longitudinal mem-. I

bers i(linterconnectedandbracedl adiacenttheir ends bythestringer' members'l hthe side walls [2, the rear wall i3 anddoors ll which close the 5" front of, the casing, Doors '14 are detachably se cured in suitable seats providedlby two-oi longitudinal members ill and the stringer mam-,5

bers ll and an intermediately disposed stringer" I5. A top llicovers the upper end-oi the casing 6' v and is provided with an upstanding, finverted,- funnel-shaped entrance throat 16a. in open. com

munication with the interior ottne casing a'nd whichhas mountedtherein two or more spaced dividing plates I1 01 wedge shaped cross'jsection, 35-

the edged ends thereof being disposed :oupwardly.

The open end ofentrancethroat Ilia as shownis connected with a flexible conduit.=l8lwhich.'re-

-ceives granular or pulverizedmaterial from: a I v 4.0.

The lower end, orv the casing c isdeflned by. a delivery hopper l9 terminating in an annular-at tachment flange to which a flexible delivery-con duit 20 is secured. A divider plate 2; oiiangular. i 1 form traverseshopper I! with its YGIftQXgdlB- 5 posed upwardly.

Casing C mounted in the irameior' bodily swinging" movement and to this end flex'ibleand preferably resilient bracketsn are connected at their lower ends withlthe upper vends -of,-.-D0 sts ill in 'parallelogram relation, and are connected at their upper ends to er s mb rsoi 1 1 beams 9, of the'irame. A second set otsimilaf hanger brackets zt connect the'lower end of tho basin: with intermediate portions ot-the I6 ing frame, all of said hanger brackets 22 and 23 being in parallelogram arrangement to permit bodily shaking or reciprocating of easing C formounted and secured between spaced depending plates or boards 25 supported from the casing top l6, and said uppermost seriesare preferably arranged in substantially triangular formation with the sides of the triangle diverging downwardly from'the central portion or the inlet throat lGa. Below rods 24 is mounteda second series-of dea fleeting and agitating rods 26 traversing the cross" sectional area of casing C and being'arranged in vertically staggered .columns. Rods 2B are slightly shorter than the distance between the side walls l2 of the casing and are mounted for restricted sliding movement between a pair of vertical mounting boards or plates 21, spaced a short distance from the respective sides 12 of the casing. The mounting plates 21 are provided with apertures 21a for loosely receiving rods 26 with freedom for slidableland various lateral movements of said rods.

As' shown, two additional series of deflecting and agitating rods 28 and] 29 respectively, are

mountedbelow series 26,.at the medial portion of the casing similar in structure and manner of mounting to the first series-although, as shown, comprising fewer horizontal rows. The rodsin series '28 and 29 are also vertically staggered and are mounted with freedom for limited horizontal sliding movement and various lateral movements.

' A lower series of horizontal deflecting and agitating rods 30 are mounted a short distance above discharge hopper l9 and traverse the cross sectionalarea of casing Cfand are arranged and mounted -similarly to theseries 26.

' A gas or fluid distributing conduit 32 extends horizontally across the uppenportion of casing C as shown disposed between rod series' 24 and 26 f and this conduit is provided with a plurality of spaced lateral discharge ports 32a. One end of distributing conduit 32 is closed while the other endis connected by a flexible coupling 33 with a source of gas or other fluid under pressure.

. Suitable means are provided for rapidly and swingably reciprocating-casing C from front to rear and vice versa of the frame." .As shown, said means comprises an eccentrically mounted wheel or disk 34 having peripheral'engagement with an idler wheel 35'axially mounted in suitable v and its structure is such that its entire interior bearing 35a secured to the rearof the casing. Eccentric wheel 34 is driven by suitable means such as a motor 36. V

Casing C, of course, defines a treating chamber and all elements mounted therein may beconstructed of wood, fibre orjother non-corrosive material which will assure maximum cleanliness and obviate contamination of flour or other finely divided or granular edible material. Rods 26, 28, 2 3 and 30 are preferably of circular cross section with smooth peripheral surfaces.

Operation Finely divided or pulverized material, such as flourfis continuously fedinto the top of treating chamber C through the entrance throat l6a.

Casing C is bodily shaken or reciprocated by'the eccentric wheel 34, the resiliency of the hanger brackets 22 and 23 urging the idler wheel 35 The several sets of deflecting and agitating rods it will be noted are disposed transversely to the direction against the eccentric at all times.

due to the fact that the apertures accommodating the rods-are of larger size than the cross sectional area of the rods., Flour or other divided material, of course, moves downwardly by gravity and is disseminated and deflected by striking the rods and byjthe bodily shaking action of the casing and the rods mounted therein and by the relative shifting movements of the rods.

or if desired, finely atomized jets of liquid under pressure and the fluid medium commingles and is agitated with the cloud or shower of. diffused particles thereby efiiciently contacting and thoroughly treating the same.

In the embodiment shown the discharge conduit32 isdisposed at the upper end of the chamher for. distributing thefluid medium heavier than air which will consequently travel downiwardlywith the movement of: the cloud of flour acts chemically on the yellow, carotin; of the flour and in doing so decomposes. Treatedmaterial eventually ifalls slowly into the discharge hopper l9 and is discharged through the conduit 20.

In the. above described operation flexible conduits I 8", 20 and 33. permit bodily shaking of the casing without .disturbingthe several connections;

From the foregoing description it will be seen that due to the combined shaking and agitating movements of the casing and the several series of rods which are arranged-in staggered relation, a M

very thorough difiusion, or dissemination'of the materials introduced is effected and .thegas or other fluid is discharged into the material in the most efficient manner.

With my improved structure it'is impossible for finely divided material, such as flour or the like, to lodge at any point within the treating chamber, since the walls of the treating chamher 0 are smoothly finished on their interior as well as the surfaces 01 the several mounting plates for the deflecting and agitating rods and further, since'the rods are shiftable longitudinally, laterally and through oscillation and have smooth cylindrical-peripheral surfaces. By obviating the lodging of material treated, all material is subjected to treatment for approximately thesame period .of time and no material will be spoiled becauseof over-treatment. I The structure of my device includingthe doors l4 enables the treating chamber and all elements therein to be easily-andfrequently cleaned.

Extensiveactual use hasshown the method 2o 'I'hecombined shaking, deflecting and difiusingactions above described cause the flour or other.

and apparatus to be productive of highly eflicient results.

It will, of course, be understood that various changes may be made in the form, details, proportions and arrangement of the parts, without departing from the scope of my invention, which, generally stated, consists in a device capable of carrying out the objects above set forth, and the novel parts and combinations of parts disclosed and defined in the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. Inapparat'us for treating finely divided material, an upright casing defining a treating chamber having smooth interior walls, said casing having a material inlet at one end thereof ard a material discharge at the opposite end thereof, means for bodily shaking said casing, and a series of diffusing and deflecting rods traversing the interior of said casing and mounted for shifting movement relative to said casing and shifted by the bodily shaking movement of said casing, said rods having smooth rounded peripheral surfaces and being mounted in smooth mounting plates whereby through the bodily shaking of said casing and the relative movement of said rods no material will lodge within said treating chamber.

2. In treating apparatus of the class described,

a casing defining a treating chamber, said casing having a material inlet adjacent one end thereof and a material discharge adjacent the opposite end thereof, means for bodily shaking said casing and a series of diffusing, deflecting elements mounted for limited shifting movement through-- out the cross sectional area of said chamber and means for mounting said elements whereby they r Y having a material inlet adjacent one end thereof and a material discharge adjacent the opposite end thereof, means for bodily shaking said casing and a series of diffusing, deflecting elements mounted for limited shifting movement throughout the cross sectional area of said chamber and means for mounting said elements whereby they are shifted by the bodily shaking movement of said casing, wherein said elements comprise rods loosely mounted for limited lateral shifting and oscillation relative to said casing.

1 EDWIN F. ANDERSON. 

